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July 21, 2009

G93: Rangers 4, Red Sox 2

Texas jumped on Beckett for two quick runs in the first -- Kinsler double, Jones two-out walk, double steal (Varitek did not even get out of his crouch, grrr), Blalock two-run single.

Beckett then set down the next 14 batters, but the Red Sox could do little with Hunter during that time. Hunter was also helped out by some great catches from Kinsler in foul territory and Byrd in right field.

Boston cut the lead to 2-1 when Pedroia singled with two outs in the sixth and Youkilis followed with a double to the gap in right-center. but Beckett allowed single runs in the seventh and eighth.

The closest the Red Sox came to tying the game was in the seventh. Down 2-1, two walks had put runners at first and second with one out. but Varitek struck out (yes, the last pitch was high in the zone) and Lowrie popped to short. Varitek was also the potential tying run with two outs in the ninth, but he grounded harmlessly to third.

No Red Sock had more than one hit. Jason Bay walked three times.

David Ortiz committed an astonishing stupid base-running gaffe leading off the second. He singled to right, and even with the play in front of him, tried to "run" for a double. He was thrown out by 15 feet. And NESN's Dave Roberts actually defended Flo's foolery, saying it was good move because he was "trying to create a spark". As though hitting a leadoff single wasn't any good.

Beckett closed out the first half of the season on July 12 with a complete game, three-hit shutout of Kansas City. He will be pitching with nine days of rest. Even with two bad outings in his last ten starts, his ERA over that period is 1.72. ER allowed: 0, 1, 0, 0, 6, 0, 0, 5, 2, 0.

A rookie in both 2008 (three starts, 11 innings) and 2009, Hunter will be making his eighth major league start tonight.

The Boston bats remain quiet. The Red Sox hit .188/.255/.302 in the Toronto series, losing two of three. Last night's game brought their post-ASB line to .202/.257/.302.

Since June 24, Jason Bay is batting .149 and slugging .243 (21 games). ... J.D. Drew is 1-for-his-last-26. ... After a hot June, David Ortiz's hitting has gone back into hibernation: .218/.279/.509 in July (he has four doubles and four home runs among his 12 hits to boost his SLG).

Friday night against the Blue Jays, Daniel Bard became the first Sox reliever to strike out at least three batters in three consecutive appearances since Alan Embree from Aug. 7-17 in 2002. The last Sox rookie reliever to do it was Craig Skok, in four straight games from July 17-Aug. 7 in 1973.

Thanks, Laura. Tea is a good idea. That's what we kept giving Brian, tea and honey.

Printing out the glossary? Now there's a good idea. I should do that (though at this point I think I have all the most frequently used terms down; Laptop obviously hasn't been used much this season, and I am used to HH as his moniker.

BTW, I would be happy to see him pitch, though I was looking forward to seeing Wake pitch also.

Sorry, I admit I'm feeling gloomy about their chances right now...They've had significant trouble mounting any semblance of an offense lately and it fucking rained all day today in Boston and my bike has a slow leak in the rear tire, (bitch, bitch, bitch!)

Sacramento... hmmm. The Central Valley is positively sweltering during the summer, but the proximity to the Sierra Nevada mountains, Tahoe and Yosemite are awesome! The coast, Napa valley and SF aren't that far away and Oakland for a Sox game is easily doable.

Sacramento does suffer from the CA city malady of sprawl, due to no significant geographical constraints, thus plenty of strip malls, box stores and wide boulevards.

Not to mention that the whole state of CA is nearly bankrupt with near legislative grid lock caused by Prop 13 (somewhere back around 1978) and the provision that any tax measure must be approved by 2/3 of the legislature; thus the minority blocks everything. The legislature simply waits for the voters to pass ballot initiatives.

People from the east (including me) tend to be so smug about California. After one of my nieces, one of my nephews and one of my best friends settled out there, I realized how silly those attitudes were.

I went to SF and the wine country, I was out there to look at neighborhoods after last Christmas.What I remember most though is having to walk down the hill after the cable car's main breaks broke. They ran it down the hill with a truck infront of it. I'm just worried about not getting a life once I get there since I know no one.

Growing up in California, then settling in Boston I see the advantages and disadvantages of both. Often I find myself trying to dissuade naive east coasters from the misconception that CA is paradise--it's not: primarily because 55 million other people thought is was and went there ;-{

Could move to Vancouver and be on the same coast as them... I understand what you mean. It's one thing going for a short flight or a 7-8 hour drive to see your parents, or having to take a cross-country kill-my-wallet flight to see them.

I had a friend growing up who was convinced that CA was heaven on earth. She moved there after college and was disappointed that people out there can be just as annoying as people on the east coast. People are people, wherever you go. Some are wonderful, some are jerks. You just have to find the wonderful ones.

The foot hills of the Sierra (often called the Gold Country) have some charming small towns; neat B&Bs. Or join the Sierra Club and hike to your heart's content in the Sierra back country. Trout fish in spectacular rivers and streams. Whitewater raft down the American river. The outdoor opportunities are really unbeatable in that area.